Railway-switch



(NoModel.) y A D. F. VAUGHAN.

RAILWAY SWITCH.

' Patented Jne 19, 1894.

Inventor.

Attorney.

UNITED l'STATES PATENT OFFICE."

DAVID E. VAUGHAN, oF HADDONEI'ELD, NEw JERSEY.

' RAILWAY-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 521,743, dated June 19, 1894.-

n Aliplication led December 15, 18.93. Serial No. 493,733. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID F. VAUGHAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Haddonield, in the county of Camden and State of New Jersey, have inventedfcertainnew and useful Improvements in Railway-Switches, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which'- Figure 1, is a plan view, the switch being set for the main track; Fig. 2, a section enlarged on the line w, looking in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1, the tie being omitted.

- Fig. 3, is a plan view showing the switch parzio tially thrown.

This invention relates to that class of railway switches which are known as movable point switches, and its object is to provide a switch of this kind so constructed and proportioned as to prevent, in a simple yet reliable manner, without requiring the use of guardrails,the derailrnent of cars, which, as-

is well known, frequently occurs where the switch is not fully adjusted, owing to care-k lessness or to obstruction, or clogging, by dirt, snow, or the like, and thus causes the car-- wheelsto straddle the switch-rails and so fly the track-way.

The invention consists in the'combination with the fixed main-track rail on the one side and the fixed siding-rail on the other side, of connected pivoted switchrai1s,-one being the main-track switch-rail, the other the siding switch-railf-thepoint of one of the switchrails being some distance in advance of the point of the other switch-rail, the constructionand relative arrangement of the parts being such, as hereinafter described, that the anges of the car-wheels on the same axle, in

.moving facing the switch are obliged to pass the points of both switch-rails on the same side; that is, both Wheels to the right or both to the left, thereby making straddling of the switch-rails impossible, as the wheels, passing the advanced point of the one switch-rail, must continue eithenon the main-track rails or run upon the siding-rails.

The invention consists also in certain details which tend to improve the constructlon and operation of switches of the class recited.

stantially opposite the pivot of rail A. Theswitc`nrails are`connected together at suitable intervals by tie-rods, c, c.

Ap and Bp are the points, respectively,

4of switch-rails A and B; one of the same,

Bp, being some distance in advance of the other (Ap), say about thirty inches, more or less. The head` and part of the web of the rail A are cut away, as shown, so as to leave an extension, A3, in advance of point A which extension is below the plane of the topl ofthe said point, so as to be out of possible contact with the iiange of a passing car-wheel. The purpose of this extensionis to serve as a point ofvconnection for one end of the first tierod, c', to which the usual spring-controlled rod, D, is attached for shifting the switch; the other end of the said ro/d being connected to the point, Bp.

The relation of the switch-rails. to the iixed rails is such-as illustrated in Fig. 2-that the transverse distance between theY inside of the point, Ap, of the main track switch-rail and the outside of the head of the other switchrail, B', is equal to, or somewhat greater than, the distance from the outer side of the iiange of one car-Wheel, w, to the inner side of the flange ofthe opposite wheel, w', on the same axle: in other words, this distance should be substantially the usual wheel-gage, less the thickness of a wheel-,ange, allowing, however,

a slight excess, or margin, for safety and certainty.

By reason of the described construction and arrangement, the wheels of a car advancing toward, that is, facingthe switch points must always pass either to the right or to the left of the point, Bp, and so of the point, Ap; in other words, the wheels must continue on the main track or else run on the siding, and thusu they cannot straddle the switch-rails, although the switch, owing to some inter- Vjacent rail, A,be suiicient, as in Fig. l-continue on the main-track rail, and those upon the opposite side must, obviously, upon reaching the point, Ap, run upon the main-track switch-rail A. It the space between the point, B'p, and the rail, A, be less than the thickness of the wheel-flange, then thewheels will pass on the inside of said point, and the` opposite wheels must pass on the outside of the rail, A', that is, on the rail, B, and so the carwill run on the siding. As the extremities of the points of the" switch-rails which are usually of nsuitable steel, are acute or thin and flexible or elastic, the wheel-flanges cannot ride up on the same, but if the flange ot a wheel should strike the extremity of the advance point, B. ,the switch will be shifted to one side, or the other, as it may happen, before the oppositewheel shall reach the other point, A'p; So that whatever partly closed position the switch may be in, the car will be directed to the main track or to the siding. It will be observed that in the construction shown the" safety of the main-track depends upon the advance point, Bp, of the siding switcl1"iail being open instead of the point,

A ,Het the main track switch-rail being entirelyclosed as in previous constructions of Switches;

It tlie switch be thrown for the siding and ai stone, ice, or other obstruction, should get between the siding switch-rail and the maintrack# rail,Ai,-above` the first switch-rod tie, c', the iiiexibility of the long thin point, will allow' its extreme end, or point,t`o` bend in teward the main-track rail and thus permit the car-wheels to run onto the siding. It, however, the" obstruction which prevents the switch-rail from being thrown against the main-track rail should be at, or near, the' free end of the point, the wheels will then pass onto the maintrack rails. Further, if the" switch bethrown for the main track, and the" obstruction be between the main-track switcli-r`ail, A', and the fixed sidingn'ail, B, at about the point of said switch-rail, as at y, Fig.` 3, then, by reason of the elasticity of the point, and also of the extension, A3, of the main-track switch-rail, the point ot the siding switch-rail will be drawn inwardly, 'L'. e., away from the main-track rail, by the stress ot the switch operating rod and thus the main-track will be open.. A similar result will occur if an obstacle, as at, s, be between the free end ot the extension, A3, and the siding-rail.

The connection of the switch-rails by means of the tie-rods, c, c', which are provided with jaws, J, into which extend the usual lugs, Z, one limb of which is entered between the jaws and is secured by a pivot bolt, 7c, the other or vertical limb being tastened to the web of the rail by means of rivets, m, is generally similar to the construction usually employed. To this I have, however, added an improvement, which I shall now proceed to describe. In the aforementioned usual construction, the tendency of the joint or connectionof the tie-rods and lugs has `been tol buckle inwardly, owing to the comparatively long reach between the lug connections and the consequent leverage, whereby the switch-railsf-especially the points thereof,-were liable to be forced from the proper vertical position by the passing carwheels. To obviate this defect, I have extended the upperoneof thehjaws of the tierods and given itsn free end, j', an upward projection, whereby it will bear" against the upper portion ofthe web of theswitch-rail,

`or rather as, inthe present instance-shown in the drawings, against the side of the vertical limb of the lugJ. This forms a stay against inward stress which would otherwise deflect the rail frein the' proper"` onvertical position.

I do not broadly claim" asl new a` pivoted point switch having the point of one of the rails thereof` in advance of the point of the `other rail, as various forms of snclr switches 1 had been described and patented previosto my invention.

b W'hat I claim as new, and desire to secure l by Letters Patent, is-

` 1. In a railway switchof the class recited,

jthe combination with` the fixed main track and siding-rails of the pivoted switch-rails,

the point of one of said switch-rails being in lad-Vance of the point of the other'switch-rail, and the transverse distance between the inner side of the pointof the main-track-switchL trail and the outside of the head of the siding switch-rail being equal to, or a little more lthan, the gage of the wheels adapted to1 run lon the track`-way, less the thickness of the` g wheel-flange, whereby when the'switch is par# `tially closed the wheels on one side of the axles will be caused to pass* on the outside ,of one of the switch-rails and the' wheels on `the opposite side, on the inside of the other Mswitch-rail; the wheels on' one side running l upon one of thefixcd rails, and those on the opposite side upon one of the switch rails b substantially as and for the purpose set forth. l 2. In a railway switch of the class recited, the combination with the tixed main-tra`ck `and siding-rails of the pivoted switch-rails, the point of one of said switch-rails being in advance of the point of the other switch-rail, the latter rail having the extension, A3,beyond its point, together with the tie" and switch-rod, connected tothe point of the first mentioned switch-rail and to the said extension, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. In a pivoted point railway switch, the

ICO

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combination with the switch-rails, of the lugs, fixed my signature in the presence of two subthe tie-rods having the jaws in which said scribing Witnesses. lugs are pivoted, and the upper jaw of said rod extended so as to stay the upper portion ii I DAVID F' VAUGHAN' 5 of the web of the switch-rail, substantially as Witnesses:

described. WALTER C. PUsEY,

In testimony whereof I have hereunto `af JOHN R. NOLAN. 

